One of Sinclair’s very own has written and published her first novel, a murder mystery based off of Oakwood, Ohio.
Leslie Nagel, a professor of Business English, has recently had her first novel published online. It is the first of a three part series called “The Oakwood Mystery Series.”
According to Nagel, she has always wanted to write a book, but never had the time with her busy life.
“I’ve always wanted to write a book and when you’re raising children there is no time to do that, so finally when my kids got older I had time to do some writing and I was in a book club and I had this idea and someone said ‘Well you’ve always wanted to write a book, this would be the moment’,” she said.
According to Nagel, she didn’t start out writing the book expecting that she would immediately be published.
“The idea of sitting down to write a book, in addition to all the other things I had to do, it was kind of frivolous at that time,” she said.
Nagel hopes to inspire people to write their own novel even if they are very busy and think that they cannot do it.
“You don’t have to be a student to want to write… I’m a very busy person and yet I have found ways to incorporate a writing life. Honestly, it’s like a hobby,” she said.
Nagel knew that murder mystery was the right genre for her because it is something that she has always enjoyed reading.
“Always have loved murder mysteries. I love problem solving, I have always loved that whole trail of clues that leads to a satisfying conclusion,” she said.
According to Nagel, she is very proud that people like the book that she has written and that her mystery novel remains a mystery until the very end.
“I’m very proud that everyone who has read it, really likes it. I’m also really proud that no one has guessed who the killer is until the very end. Not one single person has said ‘Oh I kind of thought it was so and so,’ not one person something something,” she said.
However, according to Nagel, not everyone has liked her book and not everyone will.
“There have been a couple people, one or two reviewers who have said ‘I didn’t really like it’ and that’s fine, not everyone likes all the same things,” she said.
Nagel said that writing is something very personal that someone has to share with all kinds of people when they get published.
“I will never meet any of those people. That’s kind of the scary part too, when you’re writing it’s like a private thing, but once you start to send that out into the world, you really have to let that go,” she said.
The book is only available digitally, which Nagel says is the new normal for the publishing industry.
“The speed to which it has transformed from paper to digital, is breathtaking,” Nagel said, “Fewer and fewer books are available physically because it is too expensive and people want to read it on their IPad.”
Nagel said that if her book begins to really take off, the publisher may do a limited number of paperback books, but for now, it is only digital.
Nagel has her own blog available on her website called Plan Your Work; Work Your Plan, that is a guide to “writing without losing your mind,” for anyone who is interested in learning more about writing or wants to write a novel.
The book, called “The Book Club Murders,” is available for purchase at the Random House website or on Amazon. The book has received 4.5 stars out of 5 on both Amazon and GoodReads.
Laina Yost
Managing Editor